The No Proscenium Podcast

This week Shawn Kittelsen SVP Creative at Skydance Interactive, the creators of the just released Skydance’s Behemoth (available now on PSVR2, Steam VR, and Meta Quest) joins us to talk about the game which puts players into the role of Wren, a lone hunter who sets off for the Forsaken Lands to lift a terrible curse. The only way to do so is by saying the towering gods known as Behemoths.In this talk we get into storytelling in VR, the way dynamic, spatial games systems lead players to embody characters, and a whole lot more. It’s another very fun conversation about VR at the precise moment when the medium is hitting a stride on narrative focused experiences that rival the best traditional video games can offer.SHOW NOTESSkydance’s BehemothAnn Morrow Johnson, of Gensler, Joins Board of The Immersive Experience InstituteThe Next Stage Immersive Summit: Speakers & GuestsThe Next Stage Immersive SummitThe Next Stage Immersive Summit: BadgesNo Proscenium Gift Subscriptions

This week we have a delightful doubleheader. First up we have Ryan Payton, director of Batman: Arkham Shadow. I’ve been following Ryan’s career since he founded his studio Camouflaj back in 2011 back when I was doing stories about the rise of crowdfunding and here we are on the cusp of 2025 talking about the greatest game to be released on the Meta Quest platform so far.In this conversation we get deep into the storytelling that drives the action of Batman: Arkham Shadow, which is some of the best I’ve encountered in any video game in years. With that in mind, we avoid spoilers for almost half the conversation. Spoilers start at 19:23 of the pod and end at 37:20. We get into some of the big character beats. So consider yourself forewarned.Then we settle in for a long chat about the state of XR with friend of the show Alex Coulombe — chatting it up about everything from the Unreal Engine classes he’s teaching to folks who are working with the Apple Vision Pro to the recreation of the Halcyon — aka the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser — an open source project in Unreal that he’s been helping to lead pretty much since he got back from visiting the ship.SHOW NOTESBatman: Arkham ShadowCamouflajRépubliqueGet Cast In A Dream Role In ‘Batman: Arkham Shadow’ (The NoPro Review)A Christmas Carol VRGitHub - AgileLens/HalcyonVRAlex Coulombe (@ibrews.bsky.social) — BlueskyAlex Coulombe Presents Unreal Engine TrainingThe (Unofficial) Unreal Engine Podcast - YouTubeThe Weeknd’s ‘Open Hearts’ Drops On Apple Vision ProThe Next Stage Immersive Summit

This week we have a doubleheader as first we are joined by Third Rail Project’s Co-Artistic Director Jennine Willlet and musician Coyle Girelli to talk about their new collaboration True Love Forever, which has just opened in NYC.Then Immersive Experience Institute co-founder Kathryn Yu joins me as we break down just how next year’s Next Stage Immersive Summit — coming up Jan 17-19 in Pasadena, CA — is going to work as the event evolves some new forms and formats.SHOW NOTESTrue Love ForeverThird Rail ProjectsCoyle GirelliLove KillsThe Next Stage Immersive SummitThe Next Stage Immersive Summit F.A.Q.

On this episode: a preview of our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide with Kathryn Yu, Kevin Gossett, Patrick McLean, and Noah Nelson. Find the perfect gift for the immersive fan in yourself (even if that's just you).SHOW NOTESGIFT GUIDE LINKSBox TWO by Neil Patrick Harris and Theory11Clue: Treachery at Tudor MansionThe Morrison Game FactoryStar Trek: ResurgenceAlan Wake 2Star Wars: OutlawsLife & Trust Gift ExperienceMcKittrick Snow GlobeStar Wars Etsy UniverseMeow Wolf Vista Boss2120NOT GIFT GUIDE LINKSDenver Immersive Invitational Accolades (Facebook Post)The Next Stage Immersive Summit

The last time British-Iranian theatre maker Javaad Alipoor joined us was way back in May of 2021 when we talked about Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran — which at the time we said was “an incredible multi-media theatre piece that links a constellation of Big Ideas into an incredibly human story.”His most recent work Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World is just about to wrap up it's tour of the US and is the final part of a trilogy of plays – after The Believers Are But Brothers and Rich Kids – that interrogate how technology, global politics and fracturing identities are changing the world.Exploring the themes of the trilogy is exactly what we do in this wide ranging conversation with one of our favorite artists to talk with.Warning: there is a description of a fairly gruesome murder, but we do not dwell on it for long. We do dwell on geopolitics on this episode which was recorded before the election in the United States.SHOW NOTESThings Hidden Since the Foundation of the World - Washington D.C. DatesThe Javaad Alipoor CompanyThe Denver Immersive InvitationalLA Fall Immersive MeetupThe Next Stage Immersive Summit

After our annual break we are back this week on a double header.First up, the one and only Nick Moran of Phantom Peak will be joining us to talk about the London favorite, which has conjured a Wild West town not far from the Canada Water station. What is in that Canada Water and why are there so many platypuses involved?We WON’T learn the answers to those questions but we will learn all about Phantom Peak and why it’s taking so long for it to make it to the United States in this dynamic conversation with Nick.THen we have a visit with Rita Orlov of PostCurious to get the details on the game at the center of their latest Kickstarter Campaign: Ministry of Lost Things: Lint Condition - A Puzzletale which has just 12 days left in its already successful campaign. SHOW NOTESPhantom PeakMinistry of Lost Things: Lint Condition - A Puzzletale The Denver Immersive Invitational ShowcaseLA Immersive Meetup for Fall '24The Next Stage Immersive Summit

This week on the show we gather the Review Crew to chat about our various Spooky Season and Autumnal Escapades. Nick Fortugno, Blake Weil, Katrina Lat, Laura Hess, and Patrick McLean join host Noah Nelson as we go coast to coast over to London, and into the wilds of VR in search of chills and thrills.SHOW NOTESThe Next Stage Immersive SummitDenver Immersive InvitationalBeetlejuice Beetlejuice: The Afterlife ExperienceJimmy Fallon's TonightmaresHouse of Exquisite Corpse IV: SuperstitionsPhantom PeakShadow Traffic (Lost Horizon Night Market)You Can't Scare Me

This week on the show we’re joined by Wesley James and Dallas Nichols of Phoenix based design + build firm LINE LAB for a conversation about building unique immersive environments for places like The Nemesis Club, and Platform 18 and the UnderTow Tiki Bar at Century Grand - all of which have received glowing reviews and accolades.But before we do that we’ll we kick things off with Tia Shearer Bassett, organizer of The From Home Fest to tell us all about this immersive festival which you can experience from your own home starting on Oct. 26th. SHOW NOTESLine LabThe Nemesis ClubCentury GrandThe From Home FestThe Next Stage Immersive Summit

This week we’re joined by Carmel Clavin of Spectacle & Mirth, who just wrapped a tour of two immersive works — Journey to the Kingdom of Hypnos and City Liminal — to talk about the challenges and opportunities of touring immersive work around the globe through the network of Fringe Festivals and beyond.And we break down the Badge Pricing and On-Sale dates for the 2025 Next Stage Immersive Summit.SHOW NOTESSpectacle & MirthBadge Pricing & On Sale Dates for the 2025 Next Stage Immersive Summit